News Clipping 2011/06/02

I.

DOH tracing path of harmful food additive

The China Post   May 25, 2011

The Department of Health (DOH) is trying to track down a poisonous food additive sold by a chemical company to unwitting makers of beverages and foodstuffs after ordering the removal of contaminated products from store shelves.

According to a local news source, this is the world's first case of foods and beverages being laced with the plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, commonly abbreviated as DEHP. DEHP is a carcinogen and can also disrupt the endocrine system and change hormone levels.

In the meantime, prosecutors are questioning Lai Chun-chieh (賴俊傑), manager of Yu Shen Company (昱伸公司), which has been manufacturing the additive for a long time. According to sources, the company's monthly sales total NT$3 million. Lai, 57, was in police custody but had not been charged with any crime as of press time.

Protecting the Consumer

DOH ordered on Friday, May 20, that beverages and foodstuffs laced with the additive be removed from store shelves nationwide, that consumers be refunded, and that all such unsold beverages and foodstuffs be impounded and destroyed.

Total consumption of DEHP by public and private organizations came to more than 200 metric tons last year, according to DOH, which is trying to find out how much found its way to the food industry. On May 19, Changhua County seized 127 barrels (25 kg each) of emulsifiers laced with plasticizers and about 10,000 kg of food product mixes from four food processing companies in Changhua County, Taichung City and New Taipei City.

Carcinogen's Harmful Effects

　According to media reports, the said additive, which contains the cancer-causing plasticizer DEHP, has been used as a substitute for palm oil, a legal ingredient but five-times more expensive, in the manufacture of an emulsifier. DEHP, an organic compound, is described as a cost effective general-purpose plasticizer which is used mainly for making plastic and PVC soft and pliable. While emulsifiers are a legitimate ingredient of food additives, plasticizers are not. Emulsifiers are added to sports drinks and fruit juices to give them a “clouded”and “rich” look.

Affected beverages and foodstuffs include fruit juices, jellies, yogurt drinks and yogurt tablets sold under such popular brands as Dahu Strawberry Farm, Sunkist, Taiwan Yes and others. The highest concentration found in these beverages and foodstuffs is 30 parts per million (ppm). An intake of 500 cc of such drinks could leave in the body enough of the agent to exceed the permissible amount in a 60-kg adult.

Young Energy Source Co., Ltd., maker of Taiwan Yes products, yesterday apologized to the public for its negligence in a press conference and in public statements published in the Chinese-language press. The company also told consumers to return the products they had bought for unconditional refunds.

Aside from causing cancer, long-time accumulation of DEHP in the human body could lead to feminization, said an official with the DOH's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As such, women pregnant with male babies and boys in puberty among regular consumers of such products stand to be affected most, according to the FDA official.

However, according to Li Chun-chang, a professor with National Chengkung University, DEHP is a dangerous carcinogen, but would not accumulate if intake stops. Only long-term observation could determine whether a person's endocrine system has been affected, Li said, adding a urine test could readily reveal the amount of DEHP accumulated in the body.

II.

Bubble tea ingredients exported to U.K. may contain poisonous additive

The China Post      May 26, 2011

The China Post news staff--Bubble tea ingredients exported to the United Kingdom join a long list of products in a massive Department of Health crackdown suspected to be tainted with a dangerous plasticizer. The Taiwanese specialty has emerged as a wildly popular drink in the UK.

The latest DOH investigation found that the food additive, known as Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, known as DEHP, has been distributed in products from 46 different companies, although a major bubble tea ingredient exporter denies that theirs is one.

So far, the company identified as the main source spreading the food additive is Yu Shen Company (昱伸公司), a long-term manufacturer of the additive.

Possmei International Co., a producer of tea and tapioca ingredients bound for the U.K., said there is no evidence that their materials have been tainted with the carcinogenic DEHP. Possmei supplies key ingredients to Bubbleology, a London beverage shop opened by businessman Assad Khan that made the news earlier this year.

A Possmei spokesperson claimed their products do not contain additives manufactured by Yu Shen Company. However, to ensure consumer safety following the DOH announcement, Possmei has voluntarily sent product samples to leading inspection company SGS Taiwan for testing.

Meanwhile, Possmei has informed downstream suppliers to remove their products from the market and suspend operations until test results are conclusive. Results are expected today.

Possmei said that if traces of the food additive are found in current Bubbleology products, the source would be an upstream supplier or manufacturer with which the company has no direct contact.

Further, Kahn would currently be using bubble tea ingredients that have already undergone testing, which means U.K. customers have nothing to worry about, the company spokesperson said.

If the most recent shipment is found to contain DEHP, Kahn has been instructed to destroy it immediately, he added.

The wave of DEHP-tainted products has the DOH struggling to rein in makers of beverages and foodstuffs that may have unwittingly used the Yu Shen Company food additives. The department has already ordered both the removal of any contaminated products and refunds for consumers. All contaminated products are in the process of being impounded and destroyed.

According to a local news source, this is the world's first case of foods and beverages being laced with DEHP, which can also disrupt the endocrine system and change hormone levels.

III.

Gov't orders withdrawal of DEHP-tainted food worldwide The China Post    May 26, 2011 The China Post news staff--Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday called on officials to hold manufacturers of plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs liable and pull all such products from both domestic and international markets. The Department of Health (DOH) has lost no time reporting the issue to the World Health Organization (WHO) to alert other countries of the existence of such products. The harm done to people by plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs cannot be undone by a simple apology, Wu was quoted as saying. Only when we get to the root of the issue and hold the manufacturers liable is social justice upheld, he said, calling for a ban on the use of poisonous plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, commonly abbreviated as DEHP, in the manufacturing of food additives. Wu however, cautioned officials against incriminating the entire food industry indiscriminately, saying officials should set their crosshairs only on those who have used the plasticizer in their food products and beverages. Commenting on the sale of such products overseas, Wu said withdrawing such imports from overseas is Taiwan's obligation. Young Energy Source Co. Ltd., maker of Taiwan Yes products, apologized to the public on May 24 for its negligence. WHO, Mainland China Alerted Kang Jan-jou, director general of the DOH's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said yesterday the government had reported the issue to the WHO on May 24, in the hopes of minimizing the possible harm done to people in other countries, after ordering that beverages and foodstuffs laced with the plasticizer-tainted food additive be removed from store shelves nationwide, that consumers be refunded and that all such unsold beverages and foodstuffs be impounded and destroyed. According to Tsai Shu-cheng, another FDA official, the FDA also has notified mainland Chinese food safety departments about the issue. During questioning, Lai Chun-chieh, manager of the Yu Shen Company (?R??), which has been selling DEHP to food and beverage manufacturers for a long time, owned up that his company had branch offices and factories in mainland China producing such food additives, Tsai said. The Implicated Manufacturers In the meantime, local health authorities in several counties and cities suspect that the products of several big-name manufacturers are also tainted. These manufacturers include the Tainan-based Taiwan Bifido Foods Inc. (?x?W????), a producer of health foods; S.S.J. (?±????), a Taichung-based company known for its dried melon seeds and other snacks; Chang Gung Biotechnology Corporation Ltd. (???°??§?), a maker of health foods; and Presotea (?A¯??D), which operates a tea house chain. According to Tsai, these manufacturers have bought raw materials from downstream distributors supplied by Yu Shen Company. All products containing food additives produced by Yu Shen, whether or not such additives contain DEHP, must be removed from store shelves immediately, Tsai stressed, adding that the DOH was trying to track down all such additives. S.S.J. has admitted to buying problematic food additives and reselling them to Vietnam, but denied using it in the manufacturing of products marketed under its brand. 　　In another development, the DOH yesterday announced that several of the products marketed by King Car Group under the Nature House brand were found to be made from raw materials containing an illegal additive. The company is withdrawing these products from the market, promising consumers a refund. IV Food shares face pressure after DEHP additive scare The China Post    May 28, 2011 TAIPEI -- Shares of food firms were under pressure on the local bourse yesterday as more products in Taiwan were found to contain the potentially carcinogenic DEHP, dealers said. Food sector shares closed down 0.8 percent, underperforming the broader market, as the benchmark weighted index rose 0.24 percent to finish at 8,810.00. The toxic plasticizer scare surfaced earlier this week when local health authorities detected the banned chemical in a slimming supplement and then in sports and soft drinks. The scare has snowballed with more food products, including children's food supplements and vitamins as well as ingredients used to make bubble tea, found to be tainted. As of Friday noon, a total of 130 food products were confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration to contain DEHP, while 95 manufacturers were found to have used the banned ingredient. The incident has caused major product recalls at home and even in neighboring markets, such as Hong Kong and Shanghai. “More and more investors are turning away from food stocks at the moment amid fears that the contamination wave will continue to spread,” MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said. Tang said beverage stocks encountered the heaviest pressure as investors feared the health scare would reduce consumption. “Summer is usually the peak season for beverage manufacturers because most of their drinks sales are generated during the period,” Tang said. “But the incident has undermined consumer confidence and many investors are worried about food makers' profitability.” With no sign of an immediate end to the incident, Tang said, the food sector is expected to face further selling over the next few trading sessions. Among the hard hit food stocks, Wei Chuan fell 2.55 percent to close at NT$32.45, AGV shed 1.56 percent to end at NT$12.65 and Uni President Enterprises closed down 1.10 percent at NT$40.55.  V Additive firms may get 30-year jail sentences The China Post     May 28, 2011 Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) yesterday said manufacturers that put toxic chemical Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in food additives could face a maximum of 30 years in prison. “The Criminal Code stipulates that each offense is punished separately,” he said. Therefore, if prosecutors press charges against the owners of the manufacturers in question, the owners could face a maximum 30 years in prison with all the offenses combined, Chen said. Chen made the comments in a press conference held following a cross-ministerial meeting led by Vice Premier Sean Chen yesterday morning on dealing with the health concerns amid the worsening carcinogenic-additive crisis. A growing number of products have been found to contain toxic chemical Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, more commonly known as DEHP. Current Penalties Too 'Light' Currently, violations of the Act Governing Food Sanitation (AGFS) (衛生食品法) are punishable by a maximum fine of NT$300,000 and a maximum of 3 years in jail. The punishments are seen by many as too light and do not serve as a deterrence. In response to the demand for heavier fines and punishments, Vice Premier Sean Chen, who hosted the cross-ministerial meeting, said during yesterday's press conference that the combined sentence could be as severe as three decades in jail. Also, the maximum fine for violators will be more than NT$300,000 since related authorities can levy higher fines on those responsible since they have made illicit gains by selling the contaminated additives, Chen added. Meanwhile, ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) has also proposed a bill to amend the AGFS to increase the penalties for violations of this nature. The proposal has been backed by the party, said Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), KMT caucus whip, yesterday in a separate press conference held in the Legislative Yuan. Hsieh urged the opposition Democratic Progressive Party to join hands in approving the proposed amendment to pass the bill before June 14, the last day of the legislative session. Hsieh also proposed that manufacturers which intentionally put toxic chemicals in food additives or sell them even though they are aware of the potential threat should be indicted for homicide. The ongoing crisis was triggered when a Food and Drug Administration inspector uncovered the presence of DEHP in a food supplement, leading to discoveries that it was also contained in sports drinks and dietary supplements in Taiwan. The source of the contamination was traced to a food additive from Yu Shen (昱伸) Chemical Co. called cloudy agent, commonly used in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powders, juices and other drinks. Police Raid 12 Factories During yesterday's press conference, Deputy Justice Minister Chen Shou-huang noted that prosecutors in southern Changhua County, which are responsible for investigating the case, have already seized money from the company's owner, surnamed Lai, that he earned by selling the additives. The move came after authorities received intelligence that Lai had withdrawn all his money from several different bank accounts following the incident. Prosecutors also seized Lai's assets. Also yesterday, prosecutors in the county raided dozens of food and beverage manufacturers' factories that were found to be using Yu Shen's additive in their products. A total of 12 factories, including facilities in Taipei, New Taipei City, Changhua County, Nantou County and Pingtung County were searched yesterday, the prosecutors said. The raids were initiated to determine how many contaminated products are still available on the market, they noted. Prosecutors said they will turn over all documents seized during the raids to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Health of each city and county government involved. The DOH will make public the names of these companies and demand that they recall and destroy all contaminated products, the prosecutors said. VI. FOOD SCARE WIDENS: Government mandates DEHP testing FOOD SCARE:：The Department of Health said 40,000kg of juice and jam have been recalled and thousands of kilograms of emulsifiers and food ingredients confiscated Taipei Times     May 28, 2011 The government yesterday ordered certain food and drink products that use emulsifiers to be removed from stores unless they can provide proof that their products are free of the chemical di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Affected items include sports drinks, juice, tea beverages, syrup and jams, as well as tablet supplements and powdered food products, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) said. All products in the five categories need be certified to be free of the chemical before being put on the market, he said. According to Chiu, as of yesterday, a total of 40,000kg of juice and jam, 980,000 bottles of tea drinks and more than 2,000 boxes of powdered probiotic products had been recalled. Retailers in violation of the ban will be punished in accordance with the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), he said at a press conference held at the Government Information Office following an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳?) on the latest food scare linked to DEHP in bottled beverages. Because DEHP is not allowed to be used in food ingredients, Chen said the Environmental Protection Administration would also demand that importers and manufacturers of DEHP sign a statement that they do not sell DEHP to food producers. To calm people’s fears about food and drink safety, the DOH has set up a hotline and established a Web site for people to consult, Chiu said, adding that people can also get advice from 23 hospitals administered by the DOH on health risks caused by consumption of DEHP-tainted foods and undergo necessary check-ups. In Taipei yesterday, a city laboratory was swarmed by customers with various products after the city’s Department of Health started offering free tests for DEHP in food and drink products. The service, offered at the department’s laboratory in Shipai (石牌), will be held from 10am to 4pm until Friday next week, and will be available at 12 district health service centers and the service center at Taipei City Hall from June 7 through June 10. “I worry whether the drink products we bought are toxic or not and I no longer know what’s safe for consumption,” a customer surnamed Chen (陳) said. In addition to items that have been found to contain DEHP, such as jelly, yogurt sports drinks and juice, customers also brought products from soy sauce to cola drinks for examination. Lin Che-hsiung (林哲雄), a division chief at the department, said consumers can only ask for one item to be examined and should present valid ID for registration, adding that the items should be sealed and unopened. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) said prosecutors with the Changhua District Prosecutors Office yesterday searched 17 companies where they confiscated 127.5 barrels of emulsifiers weighing about 25kg each and 9,906.45kg of food ingredients. The office will continue to investigate the case, while the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will coordinate prosecutors in other districts to join the crackdown in other counties and cities, Chen Shou-huang said. The Food and Drug Administration added that as it tracks down more DEHP-tainted products, names of the items and their manufacturers will also be updated each day on the agency’s Web site.  VII. FOOD SCARE WIDENS: Firms worried over impact of food scare IMAGE:：As public concern over the harmful effect of DEHP mounts, beverage makers and drinks shops are worried it could destroy their hard-won reputations Taipei Times     May 28, 2011 The latest health scare involving the massive use of a chemical, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), in bottled food and drinks has triggered concern among domestic food and beverage manufacturers that their image at home and abroad might be undermined by the incident. Initial investigations show that the tainted ingredients and products were either produced by Yu Shen Chemical Co or came from the company’s suppliers. The incident has so far embroiled nearly 170 upstream and midstream suppliers and manufacturers, including several famous brands, which have been busy recalling or changing the recipes for their products to protect their reputation and business. In Yunlin County, the government has ordered cooperative stores at 50 elementary and junior high schools to temporarily suspend the sale of sports drinks and juice pending final examination results. The National Sports Training Center in Greater Kaohsiung has also stopped selling sports drinks. The concern has spread to the general public and businesses are worried that their hard-won reputations might be destroyed overnight. Chen Mei-yen (陳美燕), general manager of Presotea (鮮茶道), a popular tea drink chain with more than 160 shops nationwide, said the company had recalled 7.4 tonnes of products allegedly tainted by DEHP after learning of the incident on Monday. All recalled products will be destroyed, Chen said. She said the tea house chain used a concentrated jelly from one ISO-certified supplier for making juice, but vowed that the company would only use fresh fruit in the future. Presotea spokesman Chen Shien-chieh (鄭仙玠) said that although specially prescribed juice was not their key drink item, business had shrunk by an average of 20 percent over the last three days. Possmei Corp, which exports raw materials and ingredients for Taiwan’s famous bubble milk tea to a tea shop in London, said eight ingredients that the company purchased from upstream suppliers were discovered to contain DEHP, but not the materials that were provided to the London shop. Two children’s health food products under the Taiwan branch of Cerebos Pacific have also been found to contain DEHP, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The contaminated products — a calcium supplement and a multivitamin tablet for children — were immediately pulled from store shelves after the chemical was detected, the company said. Cerebos Taiwan said the two products were manufactured by a local maker, Prince Pharmaceutical Co, which purchased its ingredients from Yu Shen Chemical.